News

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12/12/2023                          LO: to explore the history of the news industry and the genres of newspaper.

What is news?

Do now:

-The four elements of theatrical framework are audience, representation, media language, industry.

-When analysing mise-en-scene elements that are included are setting, props, hair, costume and lighting.

-Three contexts studied as part of theoretical framework are  historical political and social.

-The term denotation refers to what something is

What is the purpose of news?

Inform

Educate

Entertain

Profit

Influence/persuade

Due to tv's, in 1965 Sunday newspapers had fallen to 25 million, which represented 1.4 newspapers per household meaning that it was common to buy more than one Sunday newspaper.

By comparison total circulation of Sunday newspapers in 2010 was down to 10 million which represents about 0.4 per household.

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The mirror newspaper is tabloid, and the times is an example of a broadsheet newspaper. These newspapers both target different audiences because the one on the left appeals to people that have a softer news agenda and the one on the right is for people who like to read about politics finance etc. 

Tabloid magazines (popular press)

-The Mirror

-The sun

-The star

Hybrid (middle market tabloids)

-daily mail

-daily express

Broadsheet (quality press)

-The times

-The guardian

-The independent

-The financial

-The observer

-The telegraph

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09/01/2024   LO: to explore the nature and ownership of the news industry

What is news?

1.The purpose of news is to educate, inform, profit, persuade, entertain and share news with the public.

2.News was shared historically through people sharing their news with others in conversation reading newspapers.

3.150 years ago, tv made it possible to make money from news, the printing press.

4.The development of tv's in households impacted the amount of people that read the news

-in the 1950's there was a printing press introduced making it necessary to have one if you chose to produce newspapers.

News ownership

-'Media Barons'-owned by wealthy individual Rupert Murdoch
The newspapers he owns are the sun, the times and the sun on Sunday.

-Trusts- a legal arrangement that transfers funds from the owner to a 'trustee' to manage and control the running of the paper Scott Trust.

Scott Trust owns the guardian newspaper and also the observer.

-Cross-media converged conglomerates- global institutions that own numerous media outlets. These may be owned by Media Barons. Lord Rothermere owns the daily mail and also the daily mirror.

A newspapers main task is to make sure that they make profit. Meaning that the news they are speaking about may not necessarily be the most important. This can effect the content of the news since they have to produce what sells wether it is of a better quality or not.

Over 75% of the British press is owned by a handful of billionaires . Over a quarter 25% of the press is owned by Lord Rothermere and 25% by Rupert Murdoch, meaning that between them they own 50% of the printed press.

If newspapers are not legally obliged to provide an un-biased public information service their personal opinions can influence the people reading it. This creates issues because the newspaper can then persuade the publics thoughts on a matter. This means the information could even be incorrect to an extent.

Newspaper groups

1. DMG media LTD , mail -39%

2. News corp sun times - 28%

3. Reach star express mirror, people, daily record -16%

4. Telegraph group own telegraph- 5%

5. Guardian media group guardian observer - 2%

6. Nikkei financial times- 2%

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16/01/2024            LO:to explore the impact of newspaper funding and regulation on the printing press.

Do now:

1.The observer- Scott Trust.

2.The sun-Rupert Murdoch- Media baron.

3.Daily Mail-Cross media conglomerate: DMG media.

4.27.3%  of the British press is owned by Lord Rothermere.

5.3 billionaires own and control 71% of the British press.

Funding and Regulation

Media ownership contribute to news bias through...

-Political opinion of owner.

-Commercial advertising ties.

-Business interests of owners/friends.

-Profit: newspapers are not PSB-news is 'non-fiction' it is stories designed to sell.

Trust= the owner is not in charge/don't have any bias meaning they can express a range of views.

-Newspapers are not usually profitable, but are seen as means of gaining political and social influence, so are often owned by rich individuals rather than conglomerates so these businesses tend to specialise in newspaper (and sometimes magazine) publishing rather than a range of media.

-The Guardian and Observer are owned by a trust set up in the 1930's to protect the editorial independence of the Guardian newspaper and to safeguard the newspapers liberal values.

-The guardian media group bought the observer in 1993 after a disastrous period in which it had been used by its new owner as a weapon in a vendetta against a business rival. This is an example of the sort of editorial interference that the Scott Trust was set up to avoid.

Political bias of the UK's national newspapers

The Guardian- Left wing

The Mirror- Left wing

The Independent-Centre

The Times-Right wing

The Telegraph-Right wing

The Sun-Right wing

The Daily Express- Right wing

The Daily Mail-Right wing

Newspapers make their money through..

-Advertising

-Circulation (sales)

-Paywalls &membership

-Events & other sales

-Sponsored content.

Freedom- There is no influence the news is genuine

Regulation-Newspapers need checking.

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30/01/2024

Do now:

1.Free press means newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations are able to express any opinions they want, even if these criticise the government and other organisations.

2.They tapped into peoples phones making the public stop trusting them.

3.They created a regulatory body if they did not do so, the press set up their organisation to regulate press behaviour and enforce a code of practice.

4.IPSO (independent press standards organisation).

5.impress, it only covers a few local newspapers.

For regulation
-Newspapers can't be trusted , eg phone being hacked.
-Protect the public.


Against regulation
-Communication for the public.
-Gives power to the regulation.

The Guardian is owned by Scotts Trust.

Audience- The observer

1.Scott trust owns the guardian and the observer.

2.They have a left wing political stance.

3.They are self regulated.

4.Advertising, subscriptions, donations, sales.

5.They want people to be informed.

Demographics are things you cant change - age gender

Psychographics are things that you can change- social class, edu

The observer audience are very equally spread between male and female.They are up-market readers, 68% class AB 785 ABC. They mainly live in London and the south. They are keen to try new things, art and culture lovers, food and drink aficionados. One third of the audience are 15-34, two thirds are 35 plus. Online readers are about 1/3 on pcs 2/3 on mobile phones.

Newspapers used to be bought in print however now the majority of people will reads this information online using a device like a phone and being connected to wifi, this technological advance are both joint together, of two different medias creating convergence.

This applies to the observer because you can find it in shops as well as online on different media platforms.  This includes, the internet, social media eg instagram and also on desktop showing that everyone can see it.

-an online observer audience are active because they can decide what they read what they react to and can screenshot and share posts.

06/02/2024                             LO:to investigate print newspapers use media language to create meaning.

Do now:

-One way that newspapers get funded is through advertising. Newspapers hold slots in their pages so that businesses and companies can pay to have a section in the paper, promoting something.
-Another way newspapers get funded is subscriptions. Only some newspapers offer this but if they do they often provide additional information that average readers would not be able to access. This makes people spend extra money to get the extra information.

Media language

Advantages of online news:

-more accessible for everyone
-free for the audience
-most people have wifi and devices that can access this at any point

Disadvantages of online news:
-free news makes the industry no money

-need technology to be able to access

-you can't read if your homeless

-may not be as easy to use for old people

Ideologies

-liberalism , willingness to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; openness to new ideas.

-internationalism,a political principle that advocates greater political or economic cooperation among states and nations. Promotes international stuff (that happens worldwide)

-patriarchy/ anti-sexism a social system or governance pattern where the father or eldest male plays the key decision-making role in the family or society. 

- expressed in the representations

-racism-people being discriminated for the colour of their skin and the place they originally came from.

-anti- racism- the policy or practice of opposing racism and promoting racial equality.

Context

Consumerism- to consume for want not need

Celebrity culture-following/ obsession with celebrities/ famous

Multiculturalism-diverse cultures 

Changing attitudes to genders- much more of an equal based society in some countries

Changing attitudes to sexuality

The Observer's masthead is in a sans serif font. The actual name of the newspaper "observer" suggests that its looking and has insight into what is going on. The date line is located on the right hand side of the paper in the middle. The headline is in a sans serif font too giving a more classic and formal appearance, and is in a smaller font compared to the masthead but larger than the subtitles and text.

The main image is of Michelle O'neil taking her place (as mentioned below in the caption) in her place in Stormont yesterday as Northern Ireland's first prime minister, this gives insight to what type of newspaper and suggests that it is political. However this is controversial because at the top of the newspaper there are minor images and one has Donald Trump as well as Taylor Swift in humorous poses, giving the magazine a softer side and a bit of humour (the pose of Donald Trump also represents that he is not very well liked by the magazine.  .

Skybox-not being serious, having fun appearing to their likes

Copy-

stand first-

20/02/2024               LO:to investigate how online newspapers use media language to create meaning.

Do now:

The advantages of print newspapers are things such as older people that don't know how to access it online still can read it. Also the industry make money from selling newspapers whilst they don't when people read online. Another advantage is it's handy for people to pick up from the supermarket whilst shopping.

However the disadvantages are that it costs more money for the company to print them. As well as, the inconvenience of going out of your way to get it. Also, as soon as you receive the newspaper its out of date unlike online news which is frequently updated.

Media language

Lexis-words

Typography- different styles of text

Colour- muted or vibrant tone

codes and conventions online versions-

-Comment/ interaction section online newspaper for readers.

-Navigation bar with multiple topics to select

-Linked stories 

-Most viewed/ popular  stories

- subscription link

Masthead- 'The Observer' black font on a white background with capital T and O the rest lowercase. Serif type font same as print. The lexis 'The Observer' suggests that it watches the world and therefore the news is all knowing.

Navigation bar-  background colour is navy blue with white text. Which is the same as the guardian because it wants to link and show they are the same as the newspaper of the year as they can link to the association.

Stand first-introductory paragraph in an article, printed in larger or bolder type or in capitals, which summarises the article

Byline- cant be seen on website until clicking onto an article, gives credit to the person that made the article.

Headline-  black text, serif font, larger size text compared to actual paragraph, stands out from the lexis below, 'Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleads for more arms as frontline Ukrainian city falls'

social media- links for the Guardian are that the observer links back to the guardian as well as the guardian magazine account on instagram which re-directs people back to The Guardian.

Main images-Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media at the Munich Security Conference. This goes with the text below and gives insight on what people can see and read.

Search bar- blue background white text, serif font, allows readers to have control on what they choose to read and can directly look at what they are interested in.

Political bias (left/middle)

Left=liberal, they believe in equality

Zelenskiy- they are supporting the underdogs

unbiased thing to do

Owned by Guardian media groups

via links which lead to The Guardian, 

also from the big banner and Guardian masthead

Worldwide news- representation of cultures,

underdogs are reported.

Gender- non stereotypical

equality

Positive about sexuality

Race equality in news

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27/02/2024

Do now:
1.Typography is the different styles of text, colour, words size (how it looks)
2.the layout is referring to how a piece of text is structured
3.Lexis is the words
4.The masthead is the title or name of the newspaper
5.The skybox is a box or banner with information about the contents of the newspaper.

Historical case studies                                            LO:to evaluate the impact of social, cultural, political                                                                                             and historic context on the 1960's newspapers.

3 main political parties

-Labour
-Liberal democrats 
-Conservatives

conservatives tend to have more traditional values as well as their system being based on supporting big businesses and the wealthiest people it will then help the rest of the people. - capitalist

labour party - socialist. Main beliefs were to help the working class people and provide them with help and opportunities and as that improves it will benefit everyone else going upwards. Linked with trade unions strikes etc.

-todays guardian has not changed `    

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12/03/2024

Do now: what was going on in the 1960's?

- the cold war.

-vietnam war, protests

-civil rights, gender equality

-martin luther king

-secretive governments 

-protesting for racial equality

-espionage (spies), fear of invasion

-colour tv's came out meaning less people are buying newspapers.

The Cold War was an ongoing political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies that developed after World War II.

two types of newspapers are broadsheet and tabloid.

media language is the way the magazine is laid out eg colour, image

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explain how broadsheet newspapers reflect the time and historic contexts in which they were published. Refer to the Observer front page from 1960's that you have studied to support your answer. (10 marks)

Broadsheet newspapers such as the Observer reflect the time that they were produced. In the 1960's we can see racial inequality being published in an article. The article featured a marriage between two people with different racial backgrounds. This shows how society was at this time in history and the fact that the story managed to get put on the front cover suggests this was not common. Overall, this article reveals the issues in the 1960s.

The Observer cover from the 1960s reflects the fact that Britain was much more patriarchal society in the 1960's. An example of this would be 'Jackie: We're very happy' this was a headline on the front cover on a newspaper and the women is only being spoken about because she had married a man. This shows the power that men had over women and their roles of importance. Overall this addresses the society that women lived in the 1960s

Espionage is mentioned in the Observer in the 1960s. This reflects what was going on at the current time and what as a society they were afraid of. On the front cover there's a headline that says 'America accused of spy frame-up' this shows what was going on at the time of the 1960s, many countries were afraid of being taken over particularly by the Russians and soviet union and this influenced the medias representation on spies. 

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19/03/2024                                                  LO:to explore the exam format and content for the news unit

Do now:

1. It would have lots of writing and less images compared to todays newspapers.

2.The masthead consists of the observer title and a logo.

3.In the 1960s Observer front cover there are 9+ stories on the front page.

4.The adverts feature in a column to the very right hand side of the cover.

5.Bylines for the Observer reveal that men dominate the content of news.

Exam format:

Q6
Scotts Trust owns the Observer

The Observer is funded through issue price, advertising, subscriptions

IPSO/Impress regulates newspapersGlobalisation

Globalisation

Broadsheet - lots of writing, more complex

Tabloid- lots of images less writing

Q7

Online diversification-advantages etc

Use of social media.

Newspapers funding- print & online.

Hard vs soft news- print & online

4 mark explain question

Print newspapers survive despite the growth of online news because many people do not have access to the internet. Therefore they have to buy newspapers in print and rely on traditional methods to access news. Another reason is many elderly people buy the news in print. This is because they may not now how to access the internet or they simply prefer reading the news how they always have before technology has evolved.

Q8

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stereotype/ dominant group= middle aged, male, white , christian, middle class
Social group= class, gender, age, religion, race disability

women- Belarus march , empowered, confident standing up- through facial expressions, mid-shot shows

feminine delicate holding flowers, make-up appearance , importance

older generation, Alan Davies revealing secrets (stated in headline) revealing context of his story, sharing his emotions, high angle long shot makes him look vulnerable with concentrated look on his face not focusing on camera.

The Observer represents two social groups that are often under-represented such as women and the older generation. On the front cover of the Observer there is an image showing a strong, empowered female taking part of a Belarus march. The shot type is mid shot and this shows her facial expression and how she looks confident. She is holding up a flower in her hand and this contrasts with her appearance making her look more delicate and feminine. The Observer represents the older generation  in the skybox on the newspaper and Alan Davies appears in the image sat on a chair looking like he is contemplating life from a high angle shot. This makes him look concentrated and vulnerable as he isn't paying attention to the camera and this is often under-represented in the media. The headline above the image states that he is 'revealing secrets' suggesting that he is going to be sharing his emotions.

Q9

It is clear to me that the front cover of the Observer newspaper does reflect the genre conventions of a broadsheet. For example it has a

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26/03/2024                                          LO:to explore the exam format for Q9 for the news unit and apply                                                                                                    analysis skills and exam writing technique

Do now:

-the conventions of a tabloid newspaper is that the title is in a red box, there are lots of images and also less writing. They tend to be more about gossip and look at celebrities 
-the conventions of a broadsheet newspaper is that there are less images, more writing and also look at more important topics and things that are going on at the time politically globally etc.
-The observer is a broadsheet newspaper

Guided practice Q9

Genre conventions and the observer- Media language.

Context- 

How far does the observer look like a broadsheet.

Genre=type (broadsheet or tabloid)

The media language in extract 3 shows that the Observer cover reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper. Media language such as the masthead, is in a serif font and black colour, tabloid newspapers are often sans serif and a white font in a red box. The use of the font suggest that the newspaper is formal and well put together as well as being original and well presented.

Other things that make it look like a broadsheet is the ratio of writing to images. Broadsheet newspapers tend to have very few cover images and much more writing. This shows the sophistication of the audience and that they are more educated and like to be aware of important topics currently going on. 

The image of the English prime minister Rishi Sunak and the President of America is taken from a mid shot and is staged behind an American flag. The background looks as if the photo was take at a press conference. This shows how the two countries are united and share a friendship since ww1. This shows progress in racial equality and expresses the Observers liberal viewpoint.

Overall the Observer presents itself 

Language
Industries

Audience
Representations

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16/04/2024                                                           LO:to reflect on the exam and identify areas to improve.

PPE EXAM DIRT

DO now:

Language
Industries
Audience
Representation

the contexts of the 1960's are espionage, racism, inequality, cold war, Vietnam war, civil rights movement

Q7- online media, online newspaper, games, netflix, amazon prime etc

- online media changes quickly even though regulated often, and laws cannot keep up with the fast-tracking media because it can take years for a new law to be created.

Online media is hard to regulate due to the fact of how quickly media can be updated compared to laws. It can take many years for a law to be put into place compared to how quickly things can be published on the internet. This makes it hard to regulate because of the amount of time it can take to put a law into place.

Q8-One way that we can identify that this is a broadsheet newspaper is through the font and the lexis. The writing is in a serif font making it more sophisticated suggesting that is what the target audience are appealed to reading about more experienced topics. This differs from a tabloid because it has much more writing and talks about politics which tabloid readers would not be interested in. Such as,'top tory says no-deal Brexit could split UK'. This follows the conventions of a broadsheet because it is speaking about worrying topic that Uk are currently facing.

Q9- judgement- in intro and conclusion

contexts- liar , language industries audience representation

observer is liberal newspaper meaning they stand for and support equality, equal rights and movements

audience like stuff shown in skybox eg food, books, art, music etc.

The representations in the observer are typical of the newspaper are typical of what an audience would expect. The observer is represented with a left-wing political view meaning that they stand for equality, equal rights and representing peoples perspectives who cannot represent themselves. They show their typical liberal viewpoint when discussing topics such as 'secret plan to use charities to help deport rough sleepers'.

30/04/2024 LO:to explore the contextual issues of news in a modern newspaper.

Do now:

-the conventions of a tabloid newspaper are things that the newspaper is required to have like the layout and certain things they include.

- eg red masthead, more image to writing ratio, sans serif font, more gossipy, celebrity 

-Broadsheet has sky box, lexis is serif, higher news content, political topics

-The observers conventions are colour in the skybox,

The observer is a progressive newspaper who politically are left wing.

Q10 Modern Analysis

The Observer cover reflects generic conventions of a broadsheet newspaper through the topic of the main cover line. For example, the cover line "tax cuts will backfire, top economists warn hunt."

-Wars, current /ukraine/Russia, Palestine/Isreal

-Calebrity culture

-Gender equality

-Racial equality- more of it/multiculturalism

-Consumerism-buying stuff you want/don't need

-Attitudes to sexuality-more support-embracing

-supporting positive mental health

1.

2.

3. female on the cover showing gender equality

4.black lives matter movement on front cover reflecting racial equality

5.expensive food being shown in the sky box

Our newspapers today, are influenced on this that are currently happening around the word. For example, we can see that on the main cover of the observer that multiculturalism is accepted in today's society and we see a lot more of racial equality. This represents where the observer stand (left wing) as a newspaper due to them featuring this important piece on the front cover and supporting the protestors.

They also include a women on the front page showing the massive change in social context compared to the 1960's when this would not happen because of sexism sop it shows how modern day society differs form back then and how equality is on the rise.

Overall the social and cultural contexts do influence newspapers to become more accepting when creating articles and not included racist or sexist comments.